China Eastern Airlines passenger jet crashes with 132 people on board between Kunming and Guangzhou

A passenger jet carrying 132 people has crashed in southern China.

Chinese state media reported Chinese Eastern Airlines flight MU5735, a Boeing 737-800, was flying a domestic route from the city of Kunming to Guangzhou when it crashed on a hill in Guangxi province.

Reports said rescue teams were near the site of the crash, which was ablaze, but casualties were unclear.

It was not clear what caused the crash.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said the aircraft lost contact over the city of Wuzhou.

It had 123 passengers and nine crew on board.

‘All-out’ rescue efforts

China’s President Xi Jinping called for an “all-out effort” to be made in the rescue operation, for post-crash arrangements to be handled appropriately and potential safety hazards investigated to ensure complete civil aviation flight safety.

The People’s Daily reports that 117 rescuers have already arrived at the crash site.

Guangxi fire department is organising 650 rescuers, who are heading to the site from three directions.

The CAAC said it had sent a team of officials, and the Guangxi fire service said work was underway to control a mountainside blaze ignited by the crash.

Satellite data from NASA showed a massive fire just in the area of where the plane went down.

Flight tracking ended after an hour

The plane was six years old and took off from Kunming at 1:11pm local time, according to information on the FlightRadar24 website.

The flight tracking ended at 2:22pm at an altitude of 3,225 feet with a speed of 376 knots.

The data suggests the plane crashed within a minute and a half of whatever went wrong.

The plane had been due to land at 3:05pm local time.

The safety record of China’s airline industry has been among the best in the world over the past decade.

Calls to China Eastern offices were not immediately answered. State media said local police first received calls from villagers alerting authorities to the crash at around 2:30pm.

Chicago-based Boeing said it was aware of the initial reports of the crash and was “working to gather more information.” Boeing stock dropped over 8 per cent in pre-market trading early on Monday, local time.

Shanghai-based China Eastern is one of China’s top three airlines, operating scores of domestic and international routes serving 248 destinations.

According to the Aviation Safety Network, China’s last fatal jet accident was in 2010, when 44 of 96 people on board were killed when an Embraer E-190 regional jet flown by Henan Airlines crashed on approach to Yichun airport in low visibility.

ABC/Reuters